Graduation Speech - 2021 - Union Middle School (never posted!)

 

Turns out I never posted my 2021 speech. We had just come out of “distance learning” and were blessed to utilize Leigh High School to have our promotion while still having space for everyone to attend. 

The build up to this promotion was pretty intense. Everyone had questions… students, staff, parents, me. Lots of people on very different sides of the coin regarding Covid. It was a very unique time. 

Fortunately, at the end of the day, everything seemed to be okay. Our focus was ensuring our students had the safest, best promotion experience possible. This much-publicized hope/expectation really brought the community together for our students… and everything worked out great. 

A good portion of the speech acknowledged our outgoing superintendent. Mrs. Coleman (like the superintendent before her and the superintendent after her) really poured her entire heart into the Union School District. This speech honored her work and tenure in USD. 

Here’s the speech. 

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Good Evening Everyone,

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Todd Feinberg, and I have been privileged to have been the principal of Union Middle School for the past nine years. It is an honor to stand in front of you all today. Being here with each and everyone one of you means a great deal to me. I truly care about all of our Union Tigers. I hope you all will keep in touch.

The class of 2021. Here we are, minutes from finally being able to walk across the stage and begin your high school journey. Usually, I joke that we’re always a bit surprised that some of our 8th grader students were able to participate in this promotion ceremony. This year, however, I’m quite happy to share that the entire 8th grade class was eligible to participate. Congratulations Students.

Due to time constraints, I’m unable to share my usual diatribe-type sermon today for our promoting class and guests. Instead, let me just leave you with three words. Words that define what you’ve endured, where you are today, and what will be in your future. The three words are Determination, Compassion, and Vision. 

The past 15 months, which accounts for approximately 10% of your life to date, have been challenging for all of us in many different ways. However, class of 2021, you’ve been determined to make it through.

On April 12th and again on May 10th, our campus began to feel like a school again. As we welcomed our students back, we were reminded of just how kind and compassionate this 8th grade class truly is, to themselves and to one another.

And as you move ahead to what lies next, please remember to keep your daily and long term goals  within your vision. Stand for what’s right, for what you believe. Go be great. 

I’ve shared this with your parents before... we almost didn’t have a promotion ceremony this year. No gowns. No amazing Leigh Football Field (thank you again to Leigh for allowing us to host our ceremony here). No classmates. No guests, limited to two or otherwise. Like last year’s unfortunate outcome in missing our chance to have an in-person promotion ceremony, this year came perilously close to the same result. Probably closer than any of you may realize.

But the reason we are able to be here, together, to celebrate your rather unique middle school journey is largely due to those three words I mentioned above: determination, compassion, and vision… and by the effort of one person. And while I never shy away from such accolades, I’m not referring to myself. I cannot take the credit for us all being here together today. Likewise, while our entire staff truly rebuilt the proverbial plane mid-flight this past school year, I’m not speaking about them either.

The individual I speak of has spent the past 15 months, almost from day one, determined to figure out ways to bring our students back on campus, recognizing how important in-person instruction is for our youth. 

Their compassion for our students, staff, and school community is perhaps unparalleled. They are a large, often unrecognized, reason why our school district is beloved.

They have worked tirelessly to provide a vision of not only the “how” to make your return to campus this Spring happen, but the relentless “why” we needed to do so.

They have made Union School District their everything for the past six years. And without a doubt, without their leadership, we would not be here in-person to celebrate your promotion from 8th grade.

So, and I hope our 8th graders will join me by standing up and applauding, let’s please take a moment to recognize our superintendent, Denise Coleman, and wish her the best as ventures into the land of retirement. 

Thank you.

And so, class of 2021, enjoy your ventures wherever they take you. Always be compassionate. Stay determined. Don’t lose sight of your goals, your vision. I trust your journey will be memorable.

Thank you once more to the class of 2021. We will miss you. Congratulations on your promotion. 

Graduation Speech - 2026 - Union Middle School

Below is my graduation speech for the Union Middle School class of 2026.

Each year, I write a unique speech for our promoting class. I look for stories, quotes, bits of advice, anything that reminds me of our 8th grade class. Sometimes, like last year, it's quite challenging... but this year, it was relatively easy.

Main reason: this is a great class. They are smart, funny, dedicated, responsible (most of the time), and just have been a delight to be around for the past three years. They will be very much missed. 

I wasn't planning on announcing during the ceremony that this is my favorite 8th grade class we've had in a while... but I did and it's true. Just great kids... kind, talented, and reflective. We are going to miss them.

As always, thank you to our UMS families for your support over the past three years, thank you to the UMS staff for your continued dedication to our students, and thank you to our promoting students a wild three years.

Here is the graduation speech. Enjoy.

-Todd

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Good afternoon, everyone,

​

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Todd Feinberg, and I have been privileged to have been the principal of Union Middle School for the past fourteen years. It is an honor to stand in front of you all today. It means a great deal to me. I truly care about each and every one of my Union Tigers. I hope you all will keep in touch.

​

Today’s speech was written specifically for the individuals who sit around me now, the Promoting Class of 2026, and focuses on three main quotes I’ve found over their 8th grade year.

​

The first quote is as follows: “Ask me how I've been, I'll say I'm great, but under my skin, I'm not okay.”*

​

Middle school is hard. There have been many moments over the past three years where you have likely walked across campus, smiling, laughing, telling everyone who asked how you were that you were “fine” or “great”. All the while, you felt overwhelmed, stressed out, and unsure of what the future might hold for you. The challenges of fitting in and not standing out. The friendship drama. The academic pressures. Everything. Y’all know this better than we do: it’s just not easy being a teenager in today’s world.

​

But here’s my suggestion for these moments: If you’re not okay, let the trusted adults in your life provide the help you need. Whether a parent, a UMS teacher, or your soon-to-be former middle school principal, we are all here to help you get through those moments where you’re truly not okay. And don’t forget - it’s okay to not be okay. Just know that you are loved, cared for, and have an endless amount of support whenever you need it. You might not be okay, but know that you are great regardless. We are all so proud of each of you and we will always be here for you.

​

The second quote: “You’re not in competition with anyone else. No one can beat you at being you. Don’t be the best. Be the only.”**

​

Be the only. And here’s why that’s important: you have likely felt varying amounts of pressure during your time at Union Middle School to measure up to a sibling, to outscore a teammate, to outshine a classmate. However, in a world where you’ll constantly be tasked with fitting into the common mold of what a high school student should be, don’t. High school will tempt you oh so much to play the comparison game… but chasing someone else’s definition of what “the best” is not only unhealthy but often a losing battle as well. In fact, comparison is often said to be the thief of joy… Joy allows you to enJOY your days, build lasting friendships, and can provide the necessary support even during the most difficult of times. Joy will be important moving forward.

​

And so, in the constant challenge of comparisons, I ask that you focus on becoming the best you, the only you, a joyful you. What unique strengths do you have? How do you advocate for your growth? What unique perspectives can you add to any conversation? In fact, if you strive to be the only you, you can’t lose. You won’t have any competition because there is only one you. After all, no one is a better you than you. So just be you, the only you.

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Our third quote: “Don’t wait for someone to bring you flowers; start your own garden.”***

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Your world…it is about to change. Your parents, your teachers, your friends… they’ve structured your days, helped navigate your social interactions, and even read your mind when you needed support. Middle school was quite the safety net, as it should be. High school, however, doesn’t necessarily work that way. 

In high school, you will be responsible for your own growth, your own happiness, and your eventual success. Not your parents. Not your friends. Definitely not me. Just you. If you are struggling with a difficult concept in your math class during your freshman year, starting your garden means you don’t wait for the teacher to notice you’re withering. Instead, tend to your own growth by advocating for yourself. Plant some solid roots by showing up to tutorial and by seeking out peer tutoring. If you haven’t found your patch of soil yet, don’t wait around for a social circle to include you; cultivate your own community by starting a club, joining a sports team you never thought you’d try, audition for the school musical, and become the head gardener of your own success. 

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And throughout these high school years, be sure to take care of your emotional and mental well-being as well. Don’t rely on the “flowers” of social media likes, peer approval, or other bits of digital recognition to validate your self-worth. And speaking of social media… just don’t. I can say this with much certainty: very few of the moments you remember from high school will be from a text or a like. These moments, these gardens, grow from in-person, unique, fun, silly experiences that cannot be duplicated by anything on Snapchat. It will be these flowers you kindly remember from afar many years later.

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So, to the class of 2026, we wish you the best as you advance on to high school. For the challenging moments of doubt, know that it’s okay to not be okay. Don’t forget that only you can be you. And down the road, sometime in the far future, please stop back at Union to check in and show off all of the flowers you’ve grown in your garden.

​

I look forward to watching you all on your journey to high school. Thank you for being a part of our lives over the past three years.

​

Congratulations, Class of 2026.

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*) Singer-songwriter Cameron Whitcomb; song: Kingdom of Fear

**) Comedian Jimmy Carr (careful, lots of NSFW comments in his videos)

***) American horticulturist Luther Burbank

Graduation Speech - 2025 - Union Middle School

 Below is my graduation speech for the Union Middle School class of 2025.

I'm not sure how it was possible that this speech was one of the hardest I've had to write as well as one of the quickest. I sat down on a Sunday and just typed out a few key thoughts from the school year, specific to this 8th grade class, and then filled in the rest shortly thereafter.

The speech was difficult in the sense that this class reminds me of the proverbial "the wolf that you feed" tale. On one hand, there are so many talented, kind, academic, amazing students who always impressed me, each and every day, with just how unique and positive they are. On the other hand, there are the students we adore but also who we spent most of our year with, trying to navigate the ups and downs of 8th grade. These too are amazing kids, but they haven't yet figured out which path they're going to take just yet. Yes, two very distinct groups of students.

But there's only one speech to give... so I looked for overlapping bits of advice. 

The first was kindness. This gave me an opportunity to highlight some of the positive choices all of our students made this school year. This paragraph echoes what Mrs. Jorgens shared in her speech: there is so much good in all of our students... and their choices do not define who they are.

The second was choosing who you want your friends to be. I've lost count of the number of times we've weaved this topic into student conversations this year... and it's across every single friend group that I encountered. One comment I've shared with many staff members was how wonderful every 8th grader was when it was just them, me, and/or another staff member, all in the office, just reflecting, chatting, building toward better choices. One of the best stories from the year was when that one (fantastically amazing) student would intentionally use key words in their school Google Docs account so the content would be flagged... and I'd be pinged. Often, this student would say something to trigger the filters and then follow it up with "so, if you're reading this Mr. Feinberg, can you call me in to chat?" Pretty smart kid... and when we spoke, it was often about how to navigate their friend group. It's a subject very prevalent for a middle school student.

The third topic was almost not included in the speech. I had written something up about how our promoting students' grades do not define who they are. I also had a paragraph about trying your best, no matter what. I even added one of my favorite quotes about growing up from my favorite musical artist, Matt Nathanson... but in the end, I thought about this year and how there were moments for every student where they were challenged, scared, worried, and fearful of what was in front of them. I wanted to end the speech with kindness and compassion, making sure that our students knew just how much we truly cared about them, no matter their grades, no matter the number of campus clean ups they had, or even no matter if they told me every day with a sly smirk on their face just how excited they were to leave for high school. 

And that was that. One of my shortest speeches and arguably one of my less personal ones as well. No mention about my family, my health, or specific principal-student stories. This year, I just wanted to recognize the amazing work of all of our students and, at the same time, hopefully impart some lasting remarks that could possibly make a different in their lives down the road. 

As always, thank you to our UMS families for your support over the past three years, thank you to the UMS staff for your continued dedication to our students, and thank you to our promoting students a wild three years.

Here is the graduation speech. Enjoy.

-Todd

Good Morning Everyone,

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Todd Feinberg, and I have been privileged to have been the principal of Union Middle School for the past thirteen years. It is an honor to stand in front of you all today. It means a great deal to me. I truly care about each and every one of my Union Tigers. I hope you all will keep in touch.

As I look out at all of you today, I am filled with so, so many thoughts and emotions. Mostly, I have an overwhelming sense of pride and admiration that you all made it to this moment. You are a truly unique group of young people; each with their own strengths, talents, and spirit that you have brought to Union Middle School.

Crossing the stage tonight is no small achievement. It’s a symbol of hard work, perseverance, and resilience. But… it’s also a transition, one that marks the beginning of a new chapter as you move on to high school and beyond. And… with that in mind, I’d like to leave you with some words of advice. I hope these words may help guide you on your road ahead.

1. Treat others how you wish to be treated… and go out of your way to be kind.

Many of my most treasured moments over the past three years with you, the class of 2025, have been the smallest. It’s a fist bump out of nowhere to say hi. It’s when I saw one of your 8th grade classmates helping a 6th grader get their rolling backpack up the school steps. Every time we had a new student arrive on campus, it’s how you immediately would take them into your friend group. These moments may seem small to you, but they’re not. Sometimes, the kindness you share with another can mean the world to them. After all, in a world where you can be anything, be kind. 

2. Learn to say no, even to your bestest of friends

I wish I could gift you the ability to set boundaries and to do so with ease. However, this is a skill that seems to be learned over time. My advice is this: if you know something is wrong, don’t get involved. If something doesn’t feel right, walk away. The other kids you’re with who you call friends… if they are constantly making choices that give you pause, well, maybe consider looking into finding new friends, ones who raise you up and not those who pull you down. 

And if all else fails, just imagine that I’m there, holding my megaphone, watching you from across campus with a blank, stern look, all in an effort to encourage you to make the choice you know you should make. One of my favorite sayings, which some 8th grade families have heard many times over the past few years, is “show me five of your friends and I’ll tell you who you are.” 

Choose your friends wisely. Set reasonable boundaries. Protect yourself from the person that you don’t want to become.

3. When life gets hard and it will… know that it will get better.

Over the next four years, you will experience days where things feel overwhelming. You may feel like there’s no way out, like your world is crashing down and society seems to be falling apart - believe me, we all feel this way sometimes. In those moments, I want you to remember that you are never alone. Reach out to someone you trust: your family, a friend, a teacher, a counselor, or even a former middle school principal. We all want to help. And no matter how challenging things feel in that moment, it won’t feel that way forever. It gets better…I promise you… it really does get better and in ways you can’t even imagine. Tomorrow is another day and always something to look forward to.

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So, to the class of 2025, you will be quite unforgettable. To our gifted scholars: please continue to amaze us with your curiosity and insight. To our quiet leaders:  do not stop leading by example, even if you don’t even realize the impact that you have, even in the smallest, most innocuous of ways. To the kind, empathetic individuals sitting in front of me now, thank you for how you’ve helped each other, how you’ve challenged one another (and for some, especially challenged your parents, your teachers, and your principal); and how you’ve made our school a better place just by being here. For this, we thank you. 

I look forward to watching you all on your journey to high school. Thank you for being a part of our lives over the past three years.

Congratulations, Class of 2025.

And now, the presentation of the diplomas for the Union Middle School class of 2025.

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Graduation Speech - 2024 - Union Middle School

Below is my graduation speech for the Union Middle School class of 2024.

This year, just like in recent years, I waited until a few weeks before the ceremony to write my speech. I do take notes throughout the year as I try to find a unique theme to fit the promoting 8th grade class. I was sitting on my couch, trying to drown out the noise from whatever television show my sons were watching (I think it was Boss Baby), and just started typing out my thoughts on my iPhone. About 20 minutes and 1000 words later, I was done.

From there, after I had the body of the speech done, I left it alone for a week or so. I went back to the speech just last week and started to move around my thoughts and stories and themes. When I was finally done, I sent to, per the usual, to Mrs. Dunavan (one of our 7th grade ELA teachers). Her response was "I wouldn't change a thing"... and so I didn't. 

Just like last year, I didn't prepare or practice the speech, once it was done. I gave a brief summary to our office staff and then read it to my wife. That was it. The theme of the speech just felt right; it felt like the best way to summarize this 8th grade class. 

This was a great class. Memorable in every way. Positive ways, challenging ways, silly ways, and academic ways. We are truly going to miss them. 

As always, thank you to our UMS families for your support over the past three years, thank you to the UMS staff for your continued dedication to our students, and thank you to our promoting students for just being you.

Here is the graduation speech. Enjoy.

-Todd

(One last tidbit, since I did have this question asked, my fantasy football rival is "Team Kitty" and no, they haven't ever won a championship despite being in our 16-team fantasy football league for 30+ years. Just for comparison sake, I have won four times in that span.)

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Good Morning Everyone,

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Todd Feinberg, and I have been privileged to have been the principal of Union Middle School for the past twelve years. It is an honor to stand in front of you all today and means a great deal to me. I truly care about each and every one of my Union Tigers. I hope you all will keep in touch.

And now to speak directly to our promoting 8th graders… oh my… my 8th graders… 

I want to share a little bit of information that I myself did not have at age 14 and truly wish I did. It is a simple question that is very hard for a 14 year old to answer… and that’s okay. 

But if you were to ask anyone who has lived a long time this question… and yes, I understand to our promoting 8th graders, “anyone who has lived a long time” might mean anyone over the age of 35…But if you ask them the question of what they have treasured most about their life thus far, what they have truly treasured, I suspect that most of them will respond with stories of the people they’ve met and the experiences they’ve had.

They will smile as they reminisce about the post college graduation trip they took to Europe, bouncing around from hostel to hostel, meeting so many different people. 

They may share with you details about a special friendship… someone who helped them once get through the darkest days of their life and has remained a treasured friend every moment since. 

I believe that a few may mention that monthly ice cream trip they took with a certain grandparent and how they now miss them so.  

This one might be hard to believe for some of our 8th grade students but a few will talk about their-now unbreakable friendship with their younger sibling, someone who they most likely couldn’t stand back in middle school when they would endure days and days of non-stop teasing, wrestling, and complaining. 

And I suspect many will simply appreciate how blessed they were to meet that one person who made them whole, amazed at just how fortunate they are to be loved. 

If you ask all of these individuals what they treasured most about their life thus far, there’s something you won’t hear mentioned that often. 

Things. They won’t mention things.

Like an iPhone. 

Their social media. 

A new car. 

What college they got into. 

How much money they made.

How big their house was. 

What they own. 

 

But that’s the benefit of age… because right now, at your age, as you head off to high school, a huge focus of your life seems to be about “things”. And that's okay. 

Just know, in the long run, all of those things you’re so focused on now likely won’t matter. 

What will matter to you is your friends, your family, and all of your experiences along your journey, to high school and wherever the winds take you thereafter. 

It’s the time you spend. The memories you make. None of this is found on a cell phone or a social media account. I promise you that not one adult looked back at their “streak” on Snapchat, proud that it lasted for an entire year. Don’t take this the wrong way, but these things… they just do not matter. 

What I myself treasure thus far are the most unique and special moments of my life.

It’s meeting my wife, then my co-worker, for the first time. (I’m starting with this one, just in case she reads my speech at some point.)

It’s being halfway around the world in an orphanage and having the attendant walk into the room holding our soon-to-be adopted daughters, seeing them for the first time.

It’s how my incredibly busy father would move around his entire work schedule to watch his son on a random Friday afternoon kick for the high school football team. 

It’s the unlikelihood of seeing a random high school classmate on my college campus a week before my freshman year began and having that small interaction lead to a thirty year friendship and an intense fantasy football rivalry.

I hope all of you get to experience such treasured moments in your futures. I hope when you’re asked the question 50 years from now of what you treasured most from your lifetime, you have a varied list of experiences, moments, and friendships to recall. 

And that’s what’s exciting about today. All of these experiences. All of these future best friends you haven’t met yet but will. You have so much to look forward to. 

Your tomorrows are going to be amazing, and that’s starting today. You have the proverbial blank canvas to start painting your future upon. It’s an amazing moment for you. 

So thank you for sharing these past three years with us at Union Middle School. You’ve provided so many amazing moments yourselves that our staff will never forget…

To an amazing 8th grade basketball season and incredibly impressive spirit game performances…

To our mathletes for their unprecedented success this year in their various competitions…

Or when that one student somehow got stuck between the wall and the gym bleachers, needing Mr. Barbara and myself to lift them out… I still don’t understand how they got there in the first place… Anyway, I think that was the first time I met you, Ori.

Arriving each and every morning at school and visiting Mrs. Lueck’s office to see what cheerful message a certain student named Chelsea left for me on the white board…

And to all of our silly conversations… including my daily interactions with that one student who would always say how the principal was their favorite 50 year old despite said principal not being 50 yet, PARSA.

Students… It has been an amazing three year ride. 

I know that so many middle school promotions say how wonderful their 8th grade class is… and while this is true of the 2024 Union Middle School promoting class… What I’d rather share instead is how this class will not and cannot be forgotten. 

When I look back in 10-20 years and ask what I remember about all of the UMS students from my time as the principal at Union, it’s going to be this class I’ll remember. 

The shared experiences we’ve had. 

The amazing students I’ve met.

It’s going to be this class, the class of 2024, that I treasure. 

Congratulations to each and every one of you.

And now, the presentation of the diplomas for the Union Middle School class of 2024.